Advocating zero waste

When the left eyelid twitched, it meant that good things were to come. When the right eyelid twitched, it meant that bad things were to come. Hale didn’t believe in superstitions in his past life and he wasn’t going to start in this, even though the fantasy world he reincarnated into had many things unexplainable by logic.

But maybe he should have trusted his right eyelid and hightailed it earlier.

“I was created by splicing their DNA. But maybe because it went against the Creators’ wishes, I became an abomination with only one wing. Unlike that damned daemon!”

Excuse me, if someone with looks like yours is an abomination, then 99% of the world would want to be an abomination too.

But Hale could guess where Orifil’s thinking stemmed from. The celestials had no objections against interspecies relationships… as long as it didn’t involve children. A birth like Orifil’s would be seen as unnatural and thus sinful. No wonder his father Morinith was dubbed as a traitor and his Purpose Name revoked.

“Have you heard of this legend?” The nephilim continued, “The one-winged bird will be whole when he finds heartfelt love. So many people claimed to love me but how can a monster have an other half?”

Hale’s hand that was rummaging through his storage pouch stopped. Information begets more information. Analysis was something Hale did a lot so he immediately caught the cause and effect. His fist itched but he didn’t punch the nephilim in the end, instead opting to throw the Greater Recovery Potion at him. The broken wing healed under the properties of the liquid but the same liquid also left Orifil a drenched rat.

“Why are you believing in some unfounded legend and ignoring the truth before your eyes? Lisa, Ringo, Sofiya, Fangyi, Itsara… Do you even remember them?”

Hale snorted at Orifil’s pensive look, “Lisa was your first girlfriend, Ringo was your longest, and Sofiya was the one you were most intimate with. Just because of that short amount of time dating you, not even 6 months combined, their entire lives were ruined. They’re still tormented by your admirers till this day and refused to seek help because they didn’t want to burden you. Fangyi couldn’t take the blow of breaking up and returned to the Creators. Itsara was disowned because she refused to marry her fiancé and has been living from hand to mouth. How long can a girl who hasn’t worked a day in her life survive outside? But she refused to return home. These are just to name a few… Do you need me to continue?”

The undead boy took a swig of water from his flask. “They took the first 99 steps and it’s up to you whether to take the last but don’t deny their feelings. I don’t know how much is love and how much is obsession but they’re true nonetheless.” Even though all they got was a beautiful lie, at least they were brave enough to give sincerity hoping to receive the same.

“... I didn’t know.” Orifil’s hair-feathers covered his face as it bent towards the ground. The white academy sportswear stuck to his milk chocolate skin and he cut a sorry figure.

Orifil had impressions of the girls Hale mentioned. Lisa was shy but would take the initiative to hold hands. Ringo had the sweetest smile. Sofiya was of a similar height and her emerald eyes often locked with his. Fangyi sniffled when they broke up but still left without a word. And Itsara had a little temper and had to be coaxed every time she got angry.

He never forgot them but they never came to mind after they separated either. No matter how anguished they were at the parting, he thought that they were just passersby in the long walk of each other’s lives. But it didn’t occur to him that a feather in his heart was a boulder in others’. He could replace them with anyone but to them, no one in the world could replace him.

“Now you do.” Hale stood up, feeling that he intervened too much.That night, he discovered many classified secrets that even the Watchers weren’t privy to (yet) but he wasn’t the least bit happy.

Because an information guild had to have ethics. There were ‘sellable’ data and ‘unsellable’ data and most of what he heard today was too private, too personal. What was the point of learning information he couldn’t sell to buyers or pass on to Katharin?

Thinking of the loss of time, emotions and the pricey potion today, the capitalist in Hale said, “Give me these feathers since you don’t want them anymore.”

“..... Sure. What do you want them for?” Orifil was puzzled. To him, they were a symbol that he was a failed product and didn’t belong anywhere. Ugly and worthless, they were frankly an eyesore.

But his junior, yawning as he picked them up, seemed to have a different opinion.

“These are quite fetching. I’m sure they can sell for a high price.” He could even auction them off to Orifil’s admirers. The more he thought about it, the more it seemed like a good business opportunity.

Then the boy sped off as if afraid the nephilim would change his mind, “I’ll give you a cut, don’t worry!”

Orifil looked at his thin back, dumbfounded. Then a burst of laughter reverberated in the space. In the workroom of his deceased parents, the man snapped the handle of the laser blade he had no more use for. From then on, Orifil’s clothing was always half-bareback, allowing his single wing to stretch out comfortably towards the sky.